Andrew Stanton already at work writing John Carter sequel The Gods of Mars

The press junket for Disney's upcoming Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptation JOHN CARTER took place last week out in the Arizona desert, and word on a potential sequel - tentatively titled JOHN CARTER: THE GODS OF MARS - is already beginning to brew.

Our own Andrew Hegele was in Carefree, Arizona for the junket and had the following to report regarding the future of Disney's would-be franchise:

"Writer-director Andrew Stanton made JOHN CARTER with a trilogy in mind, but also tried to execute it in a way where if John Carter were an only movie it would work. He has also started writing the sequel on spec, without any involvement from Disney, and will wait for the studio on deciding the fate of more movies."

Sequel news before the first film in a series even opens is simply part of the game these days. The question, however, is will JOHN CARTER - a $250 million production - open and deliver for Disney both domestically and/or overseas? Word is that the film is tracking very poorly right now, which isn't terribly surprising - marketing has not been strong nor has it been terribly well received amongst genre fans. What must the perception be among average filmgoers?

JOHN CARTER opens wide March 9th. Stay tuned for more coverage coming soon!